1. The Nuts and Bolts of the Chinese Political System
Bruce Dickson George Washington University

2. The Chinese Communist Party
75 million members
About 6% of population
Criteria for recruitment
Education
Age
Gender
Urban bias
Most key positions held by CCP members

3. Central Party Institutions

4. Central Party Institutions

5. Central Party Institutions

6. Central Party Institutions

7. Central Party Institutions

8. CCP General Secretary HU Jintao

9. Political “Generations” in China
Mao Zedong
Deng Xiaoping
Jiang Zemin

10. Fourth Generation
Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao

11. Fifth Generation
Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang

12. Chinese Party Institutions

13. Chinese Political System

14. Chinese legislators at work

15. Chinese legislators at work

16. Chinese legislators at work

17. Chinese Political System

18. Prime Minister WEN Jiabao

19. Chinese Political System

20. Chinese Political System

21. CCP’s bid for legitimacy
“Performance Legitimacy”
Growth

23. CCP’s bid for legitimacy
“Performance Legitimacy”
Growth
Nationalism
Pride in economic accomplishments and growing role in international community
Preserve national unity
“Century of humiliation”

24. CCP’s bid for legitimacy
“Performance Legitimacy”
Growth
Nationalism
Maintain political order
Traditional concern for stability
Rising protests around country
Concerns about migrant workers

25. Challenges to CCP’s legitimacy
Economic
Inequality
Corruption
Pollution
Current economic slowdown
Rising aspirations?
Nationalism
Both elite driven and popular nationalism
Order
Most protests are direct if unintended consequence of pro-growth policies
How to balance growth and stability?

26. CCP’s Strategy for Survival
Coercion
A hallmark of any authoritarian regime
But costly

27. CCP’s Strategy for Survival
Coercion
Co-optation
Potential threats
New talent needed for policy goals
Chinese universities are now main recruitment areas for CCP
“Three Represents”

29. CCP’s Strategy for Survival
Coercion
Co-optation
Limit the flow of information
Media
Internet
Prevent their use for political purposes, but make them available for leisure and especially economic purposes

30. CCP’s Strategy for Survival
Coercion
Co-optation
Limit the flow of information
Raise the cost of collective action
CCP monopoly on political organization
Protests are local, material demands

31. Prospects for change
Despite the many problems linked to economic development, CCP remains popular
Most Chinese optimistic about future
No viable alternative
Will change come from within the party or from society?